WE WON THE WAR BUT LOST THE PEACE! Civil War Hero Gen Alabi-Isama Blasts Nigeria’s Leaders; Says ‘Old Ghosts’ Still Haunting the Nation!

One of the most respected voices from the Nigerian Civil War, Brigadier-General Godwin Alabi-Isama (Rtd), has delivered a stinging reality check to the nation. Decades after the bullets stopped flying, the war veteran claims that Nigeria is still struggling to find true harmony because it “didn’t know how to win the peace.”

Reflecting on the 1967–1970 conflict, Alabi-Isama pointed out a painful irony: the Nigerian Army was brilliant at winning battles, but the political class failed at winning hearts. He argued that the “No Victor, No Vanquished” policy ended up being a mere bandage on a deep, unhealed wound.

“Winning a war is about guns and strategy, but winning peace is about justice and inclusion,” the General reportedly stated. “We stopped the fighting, but we didn’t stop the things that caused the fighting the tribalism, the inequality, and the feeling that some are more Nigerian than others.”

The veteran, who famously documented his wartime experiences in the book The Tragedy of Victory, warned that the current wave of agitations across the country is a sign that the “peace” Nigeria thought it had won was actually just a long silence. He noted that as long as certain regions feel marginalized, the victory of the Civil War will remain incomplete.

As Nigeria honors its fallen heroes, Alabi-Isama’s message is a call for a new kind of “offensive”—one fought not with soldiers, but with fair policies and honest leadership that can finally turn the country into a truly united nation.